SUSQUEHANNA RIVER SOUTH
December goose hunters can find good concentrations of birds on the Susquehanna south of Harrisburg down to the Holtwood Dam in Lancaster County. Some of this area is in the Resident Population Zone and some is in the Atlantic Population Zone, so be sure you know where you're hunting. Below the dam, the river runs to Maryland between steep mountains and the hunting is not productive.

There are many rockpiles and small islands in the river from the dam upstream to Harrisburg that offer ideal ambush points. Some of these areas are off-limits to hunters, so keep an eye out for restrictive signs.

Waterfowlers may find public boat launches up and down the river on both sides, including ramps in Columbia, Pequea and Bainbridge on the Lancaster County shore and York Haven and Long Level on the York County side. Check a map for the one that's closest to where you want to hunt.

Much of this stretch of the Susquehanna is extremely shallow and rocky, so exercise caution when you're hunting the river and always wear a personal flotation device.

The geese that roost and loaf on the Susquehanna River have to eat. A short flight to the east takes them to some prime farmland, much of which is enrolled in the Farm-Game program. Under this program, farmers allow public hunting on their private property in exchange for certain concessions from the Game Commission. The properties are posted with special signs signifying their participation in the program, but you should always ask permission before you hunt out of courtesy to the landowner. There are quite a few Farm-Game properties very close to the river around Marietta, Mount Joy, Bainbridge and other towns along routes 441, 743 and 241.

Less than a mile east of the Susquehanna River, near the town of Holtwood on Route 372 in southern Lancaster County, is Muddy Run Recreation Lake. Owned by the Exelon Power Company, the 100-acre lake at Muddy Run is well known as a roosting site for resident and migratory Canada geese during the winter, because no hunting is permitted on the lake or the land immediately around it. But waterfowlers may hunt Muddy Run Canadas on the Farm-Game properties north of the lake around Mount Nebo and to the east around Buck and Mechanics Grove.

West of the Susquehanna in York County, goose hunters would do well to check out the Farm-Game properties around Mount Wolf along routes 181, 295 and 24.

SUSQUEHANNA RIVER NORTH
Another good section of the Susquehanna River for December goose hunters is north of Harrisburg, roughly from Fort Hunter to Halifax in Dauphin County. This area is in the Resident Population Zone. On this stretch of river, there are two parcels of game lands.

For maps, contact the Game Commission's Southcentral Region office at (814) 643-1831.

SGL 290, which is locally known as Haldeman Island, is a waterfowl mecca. It's such a goose and duck magnet that the northern half of the island is posted as a propagation area and is off-limits to hunters. A bridge provides access to the island off Route 22 near Amity Hall.

Head about three miles upriver from Haldeman Island and you'll hit a cluster of three islands -- Bressler Island, Clemson Island and Lingle Island -- which all are part of SGL 254 in Dauphin County.

The only access to these islands is via a boat, which you can launch directly opposite the islands on the east shore of the river in the town of Halifax. Try setting up a blind on one of the islands and pitch your decoys in the river to catch low-flying birds that move up and down the Susquehanna all day.